One day after a 10-hour flight from Seattle to London, I was looking forward to sitting in the business class lounge at London Heathrow as I waited for my next 10-hour flight. I asked the airline staff in the lounge when I should go to the gate and after looking at my boarding pass, she told me that I had plenty of time and that she would let me know when it was time to head out.

I kicked off my shoes, got some pastries, fresh fruits and relaxed, as I sipped some champagne. Then somehow, I lost track of time. I looked for the attendant who I had talked to before, but she was nowhere to be seen, so I decided to go to my gate.

As I approached my terminal, I heard my name reverberating across the airport, asking me to go to the gate for immediate boarding. I started running. As I got to my gate, I knew I was in trouble. How did time go by so fast? I thought I had plenty of time.

The check-in staff approached me to confirm if I was the person they were looking for as they shook their heads, indicating that I was too late.

I pleaded with them, telling them that I was a frequent flyer and a business class customer. The check-in staff called the cabin crew in the plane, perhaps they might consider a valued customer.

“The door is already closed, we can’t open it, she is too late”, they replied firmly.

I was devastated as I watched the airplane back up and take off, leaving me behind, in a foreign country, with no other flight available for another twenty-four hours.

While I have missed many a flight in my life, this incident has stayed with me the most. A year or so later, I saw a woman in San Francisco breakdown and cry like a child when she missed her flight. I knew that feeling all too well. It had an eerie familiarity to life, beyond just missing a flight.

Many of us spend our lives in the business class lounges of life, eating and drinking, chasing after more and more shiny objects, never keeping an eye on the flight of life, that is about to take off!

And then, it is too late! Once the door closes – much like the door to Noah’s ark – it cannot be opened, no matter what status you hold! Only then do you realize that you wasted precious time and now you have been left behind!

Genesis 7:16b: “Then the Lord closed the door behind them.”